Yorkshire's Super League struggles: John Bastian highlights major north-west advantage

That notion was underscored at Magic Weekend when Hull KR dropped out of the play-off positions to leave an all-Yorkshire bottom six at the halfway mark of the Super League season.

The top six comprises teams from the other side of the Pennines plus the table-topping Catalans Dragons.

While there are 13 rounds to rescue the situation and avoid the ignominy of failing to provide a play-off representative for the first time in Super League history, it paints the picture of a rugby league-mad county that has lost its way.

Between 1996 and 2012, Leeds Rhinos and Bradford Bulls won 10 titles between them.

Leeds are the only club to have won a Grand Final since Bradford's heyday, most recently in 2017 against Castleford Tigers.

No other Yorkshire club has reached Old Trafford in the past 16 years.

The 2012 campaign was the first year with no Yorkshire representation in the top four; only Huddersfield Giants can boast such a finish in the past four seasons.

The million-dollar question is: why have Yorkshire clubs fallen so far behind their Lancashire rivals?

There is no easy answer but the place to start is youth development.

Leeds head of youth John Bastian, who has overseen the development of some of the country's best talent since starting out at Headingley in 2000, believes the clubs in the west hold a trump card.

"Wigan, St Helens and Warrington are all in close proximity and the north-west talent pool pretty much drip feeds into those three clubs," he told The Yorkshire Post.

"It's certainly not as spread out as Yorkshire. There are the two Hull clubs, Huddersfield, Wakefield, Cas, Leeds, whereas it is a lot tighter over there.

"Because of the close proximity, basically it's a hop, skip and jump. I think that creates a real interest over there.

"The numbers are probably a bit greater in Yorkshire but it is more spread out and when you look at the logistics of that, there's probably a little bit more competition with six teams. They've got Salford and Leigh as well who work in the community but don't actually have live academies.

"We've got far more academies over here which means the pool is spread out a bit more."

St Helens have had the Super League trophy under lock and key since 2019 with a mix of hugely talented homegrown players and outside recruits, most notably dipping into Cumbria to sign Morgan Knowles as a teenager.

Meanwhile, Wigan Warriors nurtured Halifax natives Morgan Smithies and Matty Nicholson, who made their England debuts together in April.

Another Halifax-born player Riley Dean is set for a bright future with Warrington Wolves.

"They certainly spread their wings when it comes to talent identification," said Bastian, who spent five years in charge of Warrington's youth system.

"They're active in Cumbria through the strong link to the M6. They'll come into Yorkshire, certainly Wigan and Warrington who do a fair bit of talent ID over here.

"The north west has always typically produced some very talented players. Certainly when I was at Warrington, we also looked into North Wales as well. There's some really good talent pools and areas that they can tap into.

"Credit to them all. They've got terrific stadiums and all three spend a lot of money on youth development. That aids the quality of players they're producing for themselves and generally for the game."

While each of the five north-west Super League clubs has a modern ground, Wakefield Trinity, Castleford and Hull KR are still in the process of bringing their stadiums into the 21st century.

"From any club perspective, you've got to make sure your finances and facilities are in a really good place, including the stadiums for the fans to have a really good experience," added Bastian.

"Quality facilities make a difference. If you can make sure your players have a good experience, it helps the long-term quality of any club.

"If I had a magic wand, I'd give every Super League club a great stadium that befits the fans they've got and the numbers they have. Every club should be striving for that to make a difference.

"The top clubs have worked hard to make sure those key areas are right."

Twenty-seven years on from the formation of Super League, St Helens, Wigan, Leeds and Bradford remain the only clubs to have lifted the trophy.

Bastian has reiterated the view that success begins at home.

"It's no coincidence that the teams that finish at the top end are predominantly the ones that are consistently producing quality juniors," he said. "That isn't a fluke."